#ThursdayThoughts
As promised, each Thursday, we will now offer you a piece of educational, science, or research related information. The purpose of our #ThursdayThoughts post is to share with you fact-based content that can enlighten and assist you on your fertility journey. Enjoy our post! Helping to Create New Beginnings….
45 FIH Babies from the STAR Trial to Date
Dr. Frattarelli and the Fertility Institute of Hawaii are proud to be one of the leading authors on the recently published STAR Trial (Fertility & Sterility December 2019). FIH was one of only 34 centers worldwide selected to participate in the STAR trial that was published in December 2019 in Fertility & Sterility. This study offered our patients a chance to utilize Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) during their IVF cycle at no additional cost. Currently, PGT is not covered by insurance in Hawaii, so this was a very popular study with our patients. We had sixty-one patients participate in the study and to date there have been forty-five FIH babies born from this study! These are patients whom otherwise may not have had a chance to do IVF with PGT and babies that otherwise may not have been born.
Industry sponsored research, such as the STAR Trial, often allows our patients to have the ability to undergo IVF or a related IVF procedure that they would not have otherwise been able to do. Prior to participating in any industry sponsored research, we thoroughly review the protocol to make sure that it meets three criteria that we feel are important to us at FIH and to our patients:
- There must be a potential benefit to any patient participating.
- There must not be a known harm to any patient participating.
- The study must advance the science of the REI field by addressing or answering an important issue related to REI.
We at FIH feel that research is vital to improving our specialty and helping our patients. We are constantly participating in and conducting research in an effort to improve patient outcomes, laboratory techniques and performance, fertility knowledge, and the REI field in general. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in and offer these protocols to our patients at FIH.
For more information regarding IVF and PGT, please visit our website https://www.ivfcenterhawaii.com/ or call 808-545-2800 to schedule a consult with a physician at the Fertility Institute of Hawaii.
